Stronger
by greengrasslover
Summary: When her own weakness hurts her team mates, Lucy Heartphilia decides maybe it's best to take a break from the guild. She sets out to get stronger. Maybe a certain male guild member can help her? Rated T for violence, language. LucyXUndecided.
1. Chapter 1

Hello again! Well, I thought I'd try out my own 'Lucy's weak, wants to get stronger' story. So, without further a-do...

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Stronger

Chapter One

It was an average day in Fairy Tail. Natsu and Gray were fighting, Erza was distracted with her strawberry cake, Wakaba and Macoa were drinking together while reminiscing on the old days, and Mira was behind the bar, cleaning out some mugs. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for Lucy, who was sitting with her head on the bar counter, emitting a depressed aura, thinking back to her last mission.

_They were up against a couple of Cyclopes, with skin so thick no sword could pierce it, no flame could burn it. They'd been terrorizing a nearby village, and said village had offered Team Natsu a hefty reward for removing them. Lucy and the rest of Team Natsu found the one-eyed monsters just outside the village proper, chewing on a couple of sheep from the farm they were raiding._

_Erza requipped into her armor, Natsu summoned his flames, and Gray stripped, preparing his Ice-make stance. And…Lucy grabbed her keys. Natsu had yelled, "Hey, Smellies!"Drawing the attention of the nearest Cyclops. There were four Cyclopes- enough for each person in the team to get one. However unintelligent beings they were, they could still understand when they were being insulted, and did not take kindly to Natsu calling them 'smellies.' They rounded on the team, fanning out into a semi-circle. Erza took the biggest one in the middle, while Natsu and Gray picked the one's on the left and right of her. Lucy was left with the one way on the left._

_While the other's battled with their own Cyclops, Lucy was busy dodging the giant fists of her own. It laughed at her; it's big yet slow hands never quite able to catch her. She whipped out Taurus's Key, and summoned him. The bull man appeared, made some comment on how Lucy's body looked, then was grabbed in the Cyclops's hand- much like a toy being picked up by a toddler. It laughed again when it squeezed him, but frowned when the spirit disappeared. It turned back to Lucy, mad that it's toy hd vanished._

_Panicking, she pulled out Leo's key, but before she could call him out, the hand had grabbed her, too. She gasped at the force the Cyclops squeezed her with, feeling her joints crack and the air in her lungs escape. By this time both Natsu and Erza had finished up with their Cyclops, and Gray was just dealing the finishing blow to his. Natsu turned around, and had to help Lucy. He kicked it in the gut to get it to releaser her, then proceeded to beat the day lights out of the poor thing. He made it look so easy._

_Lucy sat on the ground, depressed by her own weakness as Natsu took care of what should've been her share of the work. She wished she was stronger, able to take care of her own enemies. Her body hurt. She found herself crying tears of frustration. She quickly wiped them away, though. No point in crying- and it would only make it awkward when she thanked Natsu for saving her, again._

Recently, all her missions with Team Natsu had been like that. She knew she was weaker than the others, but these days she was always being saved by one of her team mates. She felt like she was getting left behind. She sighed, lifting her head up off the table to order a shake from Mira.

The double doors of the guild opened up, exposing the stormy gray outside for a brief moment before closing again, leaving Laxus on the inside. He trenched up to the bar counter, a few spaces away from Lucy, shrugged off his rain-drenched coat, and ordered a whiskey from Mira. She promptly poured him one while Lucy's shake was being mixed.

"What's up, buttercup? You look like someone pissed in your cheerios." He said.

"Shute up, Laxus" Lucy retorted, and Mira gave him a stern look.

"What? Just saying, you looked down in the dumps." She huffed a noncommittal reply, deciding to ignore the man and sip on her shake instead.

Laxus handed the paper of the S-class job he was going to take to Mira, and she signed off on it. "Be careful. I've heard this is a really dangerous job," Mira said quietly, the slightest of blushes covering her cheeks.

Laxus laughed, saying cockily, "Don't worry sweat heart. This'll be a cinch. I'll be back before you know it." He turned to Lucy, smug smile still on his face, "Wanna tag along? Think you can handle an S-class mission?"

Obviously annoyed now, she stood up, "No, thank you, Laxus. You're the last person I would go on a mission with." And turned to leave the guild hall. Laxus and Mira blinked after her.

"What's got her panties in a bunch? I was only joking," he said, cheerful mood gone.

Lucy stormed out of the guild building. That stupid Laxus! She couldn't even handle her regular jobs, let alone be teased about going on an S-class one! She stomped down the street, completely ignoring the rain and wind. Straight into her favorite dessert shop, she didn't bother browsing the show case, but instead went straight to the Double- Deluxe- Heavenly- Nine- Layered- Chocolate- Cake. If she was mad, this was the cake to turn to. It made just about everything better- boyfriend break ups, super stressful days, writer's block…

She trudged back home, her piece of cake snugly tucked under her arm, protected from the rain. She opened her apartment door, took off her thoroughly soaked shoes and pants, and went to the bathroom to start a bath. Now that she'd calmed down some, she was noticing just how cold she was. Sinking into the steaming warm water, she munched on her cake, thinking, once again, of how weak she was.

She cried openly then. She really hated being so worthless to the team. She was literally holding then back- how could she be of any use, when she has to be saved all the time? Disgusted with herself, she couldn't even bring herself to finish her cake. It had become too thick to swallow, to sweet for her to continue eating. She sunk into the tub until just her nose stuck out, taking calm breaths beneath the surface.

Wrapping herself in a towel, she exited her bathroom, billows of steam following her. She went into her bedroom, changed into some old clothes, and sat down at her desk to stare dejectedly at her novel. Hearing two soft thumps behind her, she turned, not really surprised to see Happy flying over a recently landed Natsu.

"Lucy! We're going on a job!" He yelled, waving a paper towards her. She sighed. She didn't really want to go on a job any time soon.

"Not today, Natsu. I don't want to-" she began, but was interrupted.

"The payments really great, Luce! 800,000 jewels!" She felt her eyes bulge at the number—that was two and a half months of rent! Still, her logical side kicked in.

"Why is it so much? What's the job?" She said. If it was something dangerous, she'd have to turn it down- even though it'd be a shame for all that money to go to someone else….

"We're looking for an heirloom. Gotta find it. Said the person knows the general location, but we just have to actually get it." He said, reading from the end of the paper he still held in his hand. She thought about it. How dangerous could it be? Alright, she'd do it.

She consented, and told Natsu to meet her at the train station in an hour. He left, having to tell both Gray and Mira still. Lucy got to packing, actually feeling a little better. Maybe this job would be easy. She was good at this sort of thing. She'd find it, return it, get the money, and pay off her rent in advance! Humming, she smiled at the thought of no rent for two months, finished packing, and set off for the train station.

How was she to know this mission would change her life? That it'd change everyone's?

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Okay. How was it? Any good? I don't yet have a person to couple Lucy with (well, it can't be: Natsu, Rogue, or Sting, becuase of my self challenge/ I've already got stories with those pairings.) but I was thinking maybe Laxus...? Who knows? Maybe you could drop a hint or something...? Anywho. Hope you enjoyed it. I know it's short, I'm sorry...Chapter two in progress...


	2. Notice

I am sorry to tell you all that I cannot keep updates with my busy schedule (as you can probably tell, seeing as I haven't updated in a month, at least) and I shall put all my stories on temporary hiatus until I have the time and inspiration. You can expect activity to pick up once summer is in full swing. Really, I'm sorry to dissappoint :'(

In the mean time, I have a couple storie ideas to mold out, as well as those in progress. Tell me what you think? Perhaps some will make it on here (in due time):

**What they call Love: **"She hadn't planned on ending up in front of Sabertooth. She hadn't planned on walking through the doors, passed the ogling drunks without a glance, or slamming her fist down on the Master's large oak desk. What's more, Lucy really didn't plan on the words that grew in her base and exploded from her mouth. 'Minerva, help me get vengeance!'"- Fairy Tail has betrayed Lucy. She wants to get them back. Surely, joining their rival guild is the best way, right? What Lucy doesn't know is that getting vengeance will lead to a confusion of feelings, not in the least is the one they call love. Lucy x Undecided

**Moving On: **Natsu died, and it takes quite the affect on Lucy. She can't seem to feel anything anymore. She thought she lost the love of her life. She signs up for more increasingly suicidal solo missions, until one such mission is too dangerous for the master to approve. The only way he's going to let her do this mission is if Laxus goes with her. Can this odd pair complete the job? And will Lucy be able to feel _anything_ ever again? Lucy x Laxus

**Everybody Thinks: **Everybody thinks he and the shrimp are gonna be a couple. Hell, even he, Gajeel thought so, for a while. Until Levy and Rogue became engaged. Now, facing emotion's he's never had before, Gajeel's life takes a new turn as a new adventure literally smacks him in the face. Gajeel x Levy x Erza (or) Juvia

**Fairy Tail Sports: **Within the past few years, Fairy Tail had produced big names in just about every sport. The Titania, Erza, dominated the fencing world, whereas Elfman threw manly punches in heavy weight boxing, and the Rainwoman brought in countless championships in swimming. Fairy Tail was a big club, which set up competitions, offered housing, and had an education program for those athletes still in school. Will Lucy be able to make a name for herself, given the opportunity, in such a big sports program? Lucy x Undecided

Once again, sorry! I really hate leaving a story in a stalement, but alas, it must be done! I shan't half ass my chapters just because I'm busy: much better to do this.


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